My weekly weekend short story - 11/30 edition

Tomorrow brings December, which I'm looking forward to. I should be mostly through the rewrite of Another Day, Another Dollar today and over the next week I'm hoping to get all the finishing stuff done with it so I can move on to book five. I was right that this book introduces my friend Eva. I love meddling characters with a sense of humor, and she definitely qualifies.

I've already read ahead and know how this book ends. I have to say it was my favorite ending, probably of any book I've written. The unknown of what's going to happen next left me barreling through the next book to figure it out.

Well, I'm going to get back to it and leave you with my short story of the week. The challenge was to write 500 words that opened with a door being slammed in the main characters face. You can imagine Nyx wasn't too happy about that.

Punishment is for the Dogs

There are certain things you just don't do

The doorframe vibrated as the sound of the slamming door echoed through the house. Nyx stared at the door for a split second, a little dumbfounded by how it was possible for Clyde to shut it with that much force. She tried to turn the doorknob, but it didn’t budge. The Hellhound had not only shut the door in her face, but he’d also locked her out.

“Open this door, Clyde. We weren’t finished talking.” She pounded on the door a few times, hard enough to let him know she wasn’t afraid to break it down.

“I’m aware of that, Mother. As soon as you stop screaming like a banshee, we can carry on the conversation,” Clyde mentally chided back to Nyx.

Nyx glared at the door, but before she could make good on her threat to break it down, Sebastian was there wrapping his hand tightly around one of her fists. She looked over at him, and a little of the tension ebbed out of her system. She hated that he had a calming effect on her.

“Let me deal with him. Sophia’s hungry and you’re the only one equipped to feed her.”

“Do you even know what he did? There’s teeth marks in one of my favorite knifes. I can live with him peeing on everything in the house, but when he attacks my weapons, I’m not going to stand for it.”

Nyx growled when she thought about finding her poor knife with divots scattered across the blade. The edge was still sharp, but it no longer matched its sister knife. She’d had those knives as long as she could remember, and they were a part of her family years before anyone else received that distinction.

“I know exactly what he did, and I’ll be happy to carry out the appropriate punishment for it. I think skinning the mutt sounds about right, don’t you?”

Nyx’s shoulders drooped a little as she thought about Sebastian’s words. She hadn’t really thought ahead to what she’d do when she caught up with Clyde. She’d chased him around the house, screaming at him until he’d managed to get to his bedroom.

“You know I don’t want him skinned.”

“I know, as much as it pains me. I keep a knife sharpened just in case you ever change your mind. I’ll take Clytemnestra to get her checked out. I’m sure we can find someone to repair her. Until she’s fixed, I suggest we take away his Internet connection. After the last time, I’ve found that’s way more effective than any other punishment.”

“No,” Clyde howled from the other side of the door.

The corners of Nyx’s lips turned up slightly. She lowered the raised fist that Sebastian held and rotated her hand so her fingers intertwined with his.

“Have I told you lately that I love you, Sebby?”

They both had smiles across their faces as they walked off to find their daughter, while Clyde’s begging for forgiveness followed them down the hallway.